The city of Mazzarino belongs to the province
of Caltanissetta. Located 553m asl, it is partly bordered by the valley of the
Braemi creek.

The earliest hamlet on the area goes
back to the 13th century, developed around a castle of which very little
has remained. Since the early 1300s as far as the abolishment of feudalism in
1812, Mazzarino was a holding of the Branciforte family.

Mazzarino is a city of both
artistical and historical interest. The Palazzo Branciforte is
especially worth-seeing. It was built in successive epochs; the earliest part,
dating from the 16th century, was successively enlarged and
restructured. It incorporates the Mother Church dedicated to Santa Maria
della Neve.

The 1400s Chiesa di Santa
Maria del Gesω has a single nave ornamented with fine 1700s frescoes. It
preserves the marble sepulchre of Prince M. Carafa Branciforte, one of the Lords of the Town. The 1600s complex
of the Carmelite Fathers comprises a single-nave church and a former convent,
now City Hall.

Among the minor churches, there
are: the Virgin  renowned for a 1600s painting by Paladino portraying
the Virgin , San Domenico  next to the convent of the Dominican
Friars, housing a precious 1600s painting by Filippo Paladino portraying the
Virgin of the Holy Rosary , the Santuario di Maria SS. del Mazaro, the
1500s Convent of the Capuchins and the 1600s Carmelite Convent.

A number of secular buildings are
worth-seeing: the 1700s Palazzo Adonino-Alberti, the Palazzo Bivona
and the remnants of the Castle, consisting of a section of the outer
walls and a circular tower.

Mazzarino surroundings claim interesting
archaeological sites. Most remarkably  in the Sofiana district  is a
settlement of Roman-Byzantine epoch, known as Philosophiana where a thermal
complex and a Byzantine Basilica were brought to light.